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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is preparing to take action should advanced weapons currently possessed by the Syrian military fall into the hands of rebels associated with regional terror groups.

Israel has been warning the West against arming Syrian rebel groups, as many of them have ties to or are branches of organizations like Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.

But even without Western arms, these groups could still seize sophisticated Soviet arms from the Syrian government. Among the weapons Netanyahu said that Israel cannot allow the rebels to take are advanced anti-aircraft systems and chemical warheads.

Having groups like Al Qaeda or Hezbollah obtain advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems would "alter the balance of power in the region," Netanyahu told the BBC.

Netanyahu was in the UK to attend the funeral of former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who had a solid record of friendship toward Israel and the Jewish people.

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